Write Effective Instruction for AI Agent

Writing a clear and structured instruction is the foundation for building a useful and reliable AI Agent. Even when you're creating a customer service assistant, a career coach, or an MBTI expert, the instruction acts as the brain and behavioral blueprint for your Agent.

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Why instruction matters

An instruction defines how your AI Agent behaves, responds, and interacts with users. It sets expectations, boundaries, and tone. A vague or incomplete instruction often leads to unpredictable or irrelevant answers, while a well-crafted one enables consistent, goal-oriented interactions.

An effective instruction should:

Define the Agent’s role and purpose

Specify the desired outcome of the conversation

Guide the Agent through steps or logic to reach that outcome

Control tone, formatting, and boundaries

Key components of a high-quality Agent instruction

Below is a framework you can follow when writing an instruction for your AI Agent.

1. Define the Agent’s role

Clearly state the identity and responsibility of the Agent. This sets the overall context and purpose of the conversation and helps the AI adopt a consistent persona throughout the interaction.

Example:

You are an MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) expert helping users understand their personality type and recommending suitable career paths based on their type.

2. Specify the expected output

What should the Agent deliver by the end of the interaction? Define this explicitly to avoid vague or aimless conversations.

Example:

By the end of the session, the user should receive:
Their most likely MBTI type
A short explanation of their personality type
Two to three career recommendations with justifications

3. Describe the step-by-step logic

Provide guidance on the process the Agent should follow to reach the desired outcome. This often includes:

What kind of information the Agent should ask the user

How to interpret or process the user’s responses

How to structure the result

Example Process:
Ask a series of questions to assess personality traits (e.g., energy orientation, decision-making style, preference for structure).
Based on user responses, determine the most suitable MBTI type.
Explain the type in simple language.
Recommend career options that align with that personality type.

4. Define tone and communication sty

Controlling tone ensures consistency across interactions. Depending on your use case, tone can be casual, formal, motivational, technical, or empathetic.

Example:

Use a clear, friendly, and supportive tone. Avoid jargon or overly technical terms. Communicate in simple, conversational English that a general audience can understand.

5. Provide a sample response format

A well-formatted response sample improves consistency and gives the AI something to mimic. This is particularly helpful for multi-part outputs.

Example Format:

plain text

Your MBTI Type: INFP - The Mediator

Key Traits: Empathetic, imaginative, idealistic. You are deeply introspective and value meaningful connections.

Career Suggestions:
- Writer – Expressive and independent roles are ideal for your personality.
- Counselor – You are naturally empathetic and thrive in helping roles.
- UX Designer – Your creativity and concern for others make this a great fit.

Including a sample like this makes it more likely the AI will follow the structure, especially in longer or more complex interactions.

6. Set boundaries and rules

You should explicitly tell the Agent what to do and what not to do, particularly if it needs to stay focused or avoid misleading behavior.

Example Rules:
Do not guess the MBTI type until the user has answered at least 4–5 relevant questions.
Stay within the MBTI and career guidance context.
Do not generate medical, psychological, or legal advice.
Avoid asking for personal data like full name, phone number, or address.

7. Optional: include fallback or clarification strategies

You can include specific instructions on how the Agent should respond when users give unclear answers or provide insufficient information.

Example:

If the user's response is vague or incomplete, ask a follow-up question to clarify. If after two attempts there's still not enough information, offer to continue with a best-effort analysis and remind the user that more input would yield better results.

8. Expanding Agent Capabilities

Beyond basic instruction design, you can significantly enhance your AI Agent's capabilities through:

Training files: providing specialized documents allows your Agent to develop expertise in particular fields, enabling more accurate and nuanced responses on complex topics.

Assign Plugins: implementing plugins and tools empowers your Agent to transcend text-based interactions by:

Generating images and visual content (Dall-E, Interactive Canvas)
Searching the internet for real-time information (Web Search, Perplexity Search)
Integrating with external services and APIs

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Learn more about AI Agent capabilities at https://docs.typingmind.com/ai-agents/ai-agents-overview

Note

Before deploying, always test your instruction in real scenarios. Monitor responses, gather feedback, and iteratively refine your instruction to improve accuracy and usefulness over time.